A ringtone is an electric telephony signal that conventionally causes a mobile phone to alert the user to an incoming call.
It has been showed that people would wait until the phone stopped ringing before picking it up. Breaks were thus introduced into the signal to avoid this problem, resulting in the common ring-pause-ring cadence pattern used today. Caller ID signals identifying the caller are sent during the silent interval between the first and second bursts of the ringing signals.
Mobile phones allow the users to associate different ringtones for different phone book entries. Websites let users make ringtones from the music they already own (MP3, CD etc.) and upload directly to their mobile phone. In addition to the cost benefits, a key feature is the music editor that lets the user easily pick the part of the song they wish to set as a ringtone. Such services automatically detect the phone settings to ensure the best file type and format.
An alternative to a ring tone for mobile phones is a vibrating alert. It may be useful in noisy environments, in places where ring tone noise would be disturbing and for those with a hearing loss.
US2007192067 discloses an apparatus for automatically selecting alert option of a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes a noise detection unit for collecting a current ambient noise, and generating a quantified value of the current ambient noise according to the current ambient noise collected; and a central processing unit (CPU), including a detecting module for detecting the communication signal from the receiver, enabling the noise detection unit to perform the corresponding function, and determining a volume level of the current ambient noise according to the quantified value of the current ambient noise from the noise detection unit; and a controlling module for selecting a current alert option of the communication device according to the volume level of the current ambient noise, and controlling the ringing unit and the vibrating unit of the communication device to perform corresponding functions according to the alert option selected.
Typical for the prior art incoming call indication systems are that incoming call indication type is defined only by the recipient, naturally within the limits of the user's mobile phone capabilities.